While Egyptian protesters battled security forces outside the US embassy on Thursday morning, another standoff was taking place -- this time in cyberspace.

The Muslim Brotherhood's official English-language Twitter account @Ikwanweb reposted a message from the group's deputy head, Khairat El-Shater, saying he was "relieved none of @USembassycairo staff was hurt" and expressing his hope that US-Egypt relations could weather the events.

This reconciliatory tweet, however, was posted while the Brotherhood's Arabic-language Twitter account and its official website were both praising the protests -- staged against a US-made film judged defamatory towards Islam -- and calling for a million man march on Friday.

One Arabic language article on the Brotherhood's site sported the headline 'Egyptians rise to defend the Prophet'.

Noting the contradiction, the US Embassy in Cairo tweeted a tart response from its own account: "Thanks. By the way, have you checked out your own Arabic feeds? I hope you know we read those too."

Seemingly stung, the Brotherhood replied some 20 minutes later, saying "we understand you're under a lot of stress, but it will be more helpful if you point out exactly the Arabic feed of concern."

They were just three tweets, but they provided a snapshot into the strains US-Egypt relations are under this week.

It took President Mohamed Morsi more than two days to officially condemn the breaching of Cairo's US Embassy grounds by angry protesters.

US President Barack Obama on Wednesday said that Egypt is neither an ally nor an enemy of the United States.

"I don't think that we would consider them an ally, but we don't consider them an enemy," Obama said in excerpts of an interview with Telemundo aired by MSNBC.

"And if they take actions that indicate they're not taking those responsibilities, as all other countries do where we have embassies, I think that's going to be a real big problem."

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Maciek

17-09-2012 03:06am

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TV

This video "accidentaly" found its way to Egyptian TV station with Arabic subtitles.

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Free Lady

16-09-2012 12:34pm

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Freedom of Speech?

How many of you will like me if I say there was no holocaust and Hitler was a nice guy? If these words are red line in the western world to cross and punishable crime in many countries. Prophet Mohammed(Peace be upon him) is the red line for Muslims. If some one dare to cross it he should be punished accordingly.

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andrew pereira

16-09-2012 05:32pm

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complete nonsense

irans ahmedinejad had said that the holocaust was a lie. no protests were there!! an egyptian coptic christian makes a movie in which islam is shown in a bad light and protests erupt in egypt against america!! u r justifying this absurdity!! millions of derogatory things are being said abt islam and other religions every day!! so why the big issue over this!!

andrew pereira

16-09-2012 05:32pm

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complete nonsense

irans ahmedinejad had said that the holocaust was a lie. no protests were there!! an egyptian coptic christian makes a movie in which islam is shown in a bad light and protests erupt in egypt against america!! u r justifying this absurdity!! millions of derogatory things are being said abt islam and other religions every day!! so why the big issue over this!!

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Wided Dan

16-09-2012 02:44am

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anti-Islam filmmaker

What do Egyptians say when you tell them the filmmakers were born and raised in Egypt and not the US?

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Romi Elnagar

15-09-2012 07:45am

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Not Proud of America

I am a natural-born American citizen of Anglo-Saxon descent, but I do NOT support my country's imperialism and genocide in the Middle East. If America doesn't want Egypt as a friend and ally, then Egypt should close the Canal and let America ship its rockets and drones and depleted uranium destined for Afghanistan around the Cape of Good Hope.

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jack sprat

24-09-2012 08:29pm

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Empty Threats

Any Egyptian government that made such a move would be out on its ass as fast as the Egyptian Army could kill it dead. Money talks and Generals without toys might as well be eunuchs.

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B

15-09-2012 03:32am

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BCalm

LIFE OF BRIAN

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B

15-09-2012 03:26am

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BCalm

LIFE OF BRIAN

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George Walker

14-09-2012 03:06pm

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A religion of tolerance or a weak religion

Intolerance of another mans opinions by physically attacking him is a manifestation of a weak argument.
If Islam cannot shrug off media that is against its viewpoint then Islam is a religion in peril. If a believer disagrees with something he should pray for the perpetrator not kill a man who had nothing to so with the event. Over and over we show the world we are a weak religion and people.

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ak

15-09-2012 02:35pm

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Dear George

Islam is indeed a religion if tolerence and peace. These violent demonstrations are evidence that some believers in Islam are lacking faith and knowledge of the religion, and has no knowledge of the freedom of expression in a democratic country like US. They did not learn the lesson from past similar past incidents. I can understand Mrs Clinton saying "the people of Egypt, Libya and Yemen did not trade the tyrant of a dictator with the tyrant of a mob". I sincerely hope that the US will continue to support these new evolving democracies in the Middle East; I also hope that the MB will speak the same message in Arabic and any other language!!

jfkaljfa

14-09-2012 08:01pm

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Truth is...

The Muslims did want to kill the ambassador. They set the Embassy on fire, with no intention of making sure the people inside were safe. They were carrying weapons outside the Embassy. It was no accident. You do not set a building on fire and call it an accident when the people inside die. That is an on purpose.

Scott Braner

14-09-2012 05:23pm

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Truth is..

and by the way Muslims did not kill the ambassador on purpose, Is suffocated as a result of the burning of the embassy

Scott Braner

14-09-2012 05:21pm

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??!!

Sincerely, who do you mean by 'we are a weak religion and people'?

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Kics

14-09-2012 11:42am

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No one invited the Muslims into Egypt

"Take your aids, and get the hell out of our lands. You are no more welcome in our countries. The people has spoken."
Hilarious. Are you aware that no one invited the Muslims into Egypt? It was an imperial military conquest.
No one invited the Muslims of Medina into Mecca either, at least without duress. When Mohamed showed up with an army behind him, one can understand Mecca opening its doors to him. It would have been rather different if he had come back on his own though.

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Hajja Romi Elnagar

15-09-2012 07:51am

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Muslims LIBERATED Egypt

Actually, Muslims LIBERATED Egypt. Study your history. Christians were fighting among themselves, and rich Christians (the Malikites) were slaughtering poor Christians until the Muslims liberated the country and made the Christians get along with each other. But, there is a place where people invaded and were not invited in by the natives. It's called the United States. No one invited Europeans to America. The English and the Spanish slaughtered thousands of Indians, and lied and cheated them out of their lands (just like the Israelis did to the Palestinians.) And we sure messed up the continent, and can hardly give it back now to the native Americans in the shape it's in.

Scott Barney

14-09-2012 05:27pm

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Should've searched bud

shame on anyone says a word he doesn't know 'bout it.. n that's all

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Hammed

14-09-2012 11:03am

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Egyptian's inability to digest situation correctly

Have heard several sermons from islamic scholars and can't find correlation in what they preach and what they do, both are abstract. In a normal civil society, because a film was produce do not bring about killing of people, when we call islam a religion of peace yet we take peoples life at the slightest provocation, does this action really potrail peace, infact we attact ourselve, suide bombers in iraq n co, killing innocent musilm all in the name of our so called peaceful religion

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jack sprat

24-09-2012 08:47pm

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Which Islam? Whose vision?

There have always been the two Islams. The Faithful and their Princes, the direct lineal descendants of the Prophet. It is an old problem, that of Princes Royal. As with the Mother of Iskander, their own life is bound up in the success of their sons. So, they tend to fill them with fantasies of Kingship. You, my son, are destined to unite the Faithful. thus, they are prone to meddle, those of them who are wealthy and prominent the more so. What's more, their own version of Islam subordinates everything to their vision of themselves bestride the world. Such dreams perforce favor peace not at all, except as a lie to lull the unwary, both inside and outside Islam. The unholy dynamic between the Wahhabi clergy and the House of Saud, with its financing of madrassahs throughout Dar es Islam is but one malign manifestation of this.

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Najjar

14-09-2012 10:12am

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So what ?

So what ? where is the problem by trying to keep good relation with somebody but at the same protest when that somebody cross the line by insulting you? big deal, this is beyond pathetic, the clowns at the US embassy must be proud of themselves, oh ! we know how to read Arabic as if no one knows that, as a diplomat the least of your qualifications is to know the local language, what a bunch of jerks.